INTEL: Ranking the contenders for 4-star Elmarko Jackson
Two updates ago, On3 was the first to put Elmarko Jackson among the top 30 in his class. Now, the 6-foot-3 senior is the 2023 On3 150 No. 23 player. The South Kent (CT) School is the industry-standard 2023 On3 Consensus No. 4 point guard in his class.
Jackson’s recruitment has been one of the quietest I have covered in the last ten years. We do know there has been some moving pieces, both with visits and commitment dates.
Jackson announced he will be committing on Thursday. The final five were listed as Villanova, Texas, Kansas, Notre Dame, and Miami.
1. Kansas
Kansas offered in June and remained steady with Jackson. Even with two coaches off the road in July, Norm Roberts was a consistent fixture courtside at Jackson’s Under Armour events. Kansas was one of the first official visits he set, and he ended up taking it on September 24 as scheduled.
Kansas’s chances: 80 percent
2. Texas
Texas jumped in on Jackson in July but made him a priority quickly. He set an official visit, on September 30 and kept the date. There is talk of the official visit to Austin going great and of Jackson having a blast.
Texas’s chances: 10 percent
3. Notre Dame
Speaking of Under Armour, Notre Dame is the only UA school on the list. Jackson was a two-year veteran of the UAA Next 17u Circuit. The Notre Dame visit was originally set for October 30 and got moved to last weekend. The Fighting Irish got the last visit, and shortly after coming off that visit he surprised most by announcing his commitment date.
Notre Dame’s chances: 5 percent
4. Miami
Jim Larranaga was front and center for most of Jackson’s July games. The Hurricanes were the first offer of the final group and his first official visit.
Miami’s chances: 5 percent
Final thoughts
After the Kansas and Texas visits, things expedited. He moved the Notre Dame visit up two weeks, canceled the scheduled Virginia visit, and went to go see Villanova.
A quick scan through the rosters and recruiting classes makes this conversation interesting, as there is no real roster fit. Kansas has four-star guard Jamari McDowell, and four-star point guard Chris Johnson committed for 2023. Texas does not have any 2023 commitments but is in the thick of things with five-star point guard AJ Johnson. Notre Dame has commitments from local three-star point guard Markus Bruton, four-star combo Parker Friedrichsen, and four-star wing Brady Dunlap.
Intel shared with me suggests that Miami was the early leader, but the visits to Texas and Kansas shined brightly. Multiple sources have suggested that, with time, Miami has fallen back in the pack. Kansas has consistently been very present for Jackson since they offered in June. Word is the visit gave confidence to the thought of coming in with another point guard.
There is a quiet confidence within the Texas program. Notre Dame carries the same confidence.
As I said above, this one has been kept very close to the vest. In sorting through all the intel available, as of pressing ‘publish’ on this article, watch for Kansas. Texas, Miami, and Notre Dame are still pushing, and no commitment is over until the ink is dry. With that said, right now, the Jayhawks have all the momentum with Elmarko Jackson.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine
I have placed my expert pick in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Elmarko Jackson to choose Kansas. I set my pick with a 80 confidence level.
The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.